Despite holding the number one ranking for most of the season, Redlands Community College golf coach Randy Keck had one message for his team heading into the national tournament.

“I told the girls that I had been watching the score of Daytona Beach (defending national champion) and I knew that they were just as good, but the pressure was going to be on them (DBCC) and not us,” Keck said.

The quick pep talk worked as a relaxed Redlands squad rolled to a 19-shot victory at the 2006 National Junior College Athletic Association Women’s National Championship.

It’s the first national title for RCC in a spring sport and the school’s second — the first coming in men’s basketball.

“From the start the girls had it in their mind that they were going to win,” Keck said.
“They were not out there trying not to play bad, they were out there to win the tournament.”

Redlands dethroned Daytona Beach, which had won the team title the last three seasons.

The Cougars also claimed the national individual title for a second straight year as Woori Shinn, a native of Nagoya, Japan, posted a 72-hole total of 296. Teammate Camila Sola, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the defending national champion but took third this season.

“We have the national individual title for two years and now we have the team title to go with it,” Keck said.

“It feels fantastic.”

Redlands played a steady four rounds to win the title, briefly giving up the lead to Daytona Beach after 36 holes. The Cougars opened with a 304 to lead by two shots over the Falcons and nine over Texas-based McLennan Community College.

Daytona Beach came back with a 299 on day two and nipped Redlands by four shots. However, the Cougars eclipsed that two-shot deficit with a 303 on the third day of the tournament, while the Falcons soared to a 312.

Holding a seven-stroke lead going into the final 18 holes, the Cougars posted a 307 compared to a 319 for Daytona Beach and a 326 for McLennan and Pima Community College.

“We didn’t have one or two players that absolutely played unbelievable the last two days,” Keck said. “But everyone pulled their weight and played steady.”

Redlands logged a 72-hole total of 1,217 for a scoring average of 304 on the Halifax Plantation Golf Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. The Falcons team scoring average was 309.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Keck said of his team’s steady play. “This is a perfect example of the way consistency pays off. We have played steady all year long and they did it again when it counted the most.”

Woori had four rounds in the 70s, shooting an even-par 72 twice. She won the individual title by three strokes over Daytona Beach’s Surita Risseeuw – a native of South Africa. Sola was seven shots back of Shin with a four-day total of 303, including an even-par round on the opening day. Her high round of the tournament was a 78 and she averaged 75 for the four rounds.

Redlands’ Grace Jeong and Brianna Vargas tied for sixth place with 309 totals. Jeong posted an 86 on day one, and then backed it up with scores of 76-77 and a team-low 74 over the final 18 holes.

Vargas had four rounds in the 70s, with her lowest being a 76. Jaryn Rainey finished in a four-way tie for 12th place with a 320 total. She had two rounds in the 70s with a low of 77 on day two.

All five golfers for Redlands were awarded NJCAA All-American status, with Shin and Sola being named to the first team. Vargas and Jeong were second team selections and Rainey was an honorable mention pick.